[21th of Fall] Among Cats & Mice (Aria)

[Mathieu]

Location: Hydroponic Gardens Timestamp: 21th of Fall 510 AV It took quite some bargain to enter Wind Reach, but Mathieu was finally there. The old man sure was more interesting than any guards he had ever met until then and although he looked quite the grumpy one, the Fire Weaver was certain he had a heart of gold - ol' geezers acting like that always have. Dusk was now safely resting in the stables right next to the Sanikas Gates with the cart and thus most of his equipment, but he was sure it would turn out alright. That being said, he still felt a bit insecure about leaving most of his tools of trade behind without being there to look after them, but sometimes the bird had to leave its nest to hunt - no sense warming his butt while his belly's empty. Striding casually through the city, Mathieu enjoyed every second of being there, every sight seemed breathtaking, every step unraveled new and impressive architecture. He spent quite some time enjoying the scenery leaning on huge windows here and there. However, anyone watching him would be hard pressed to tell if the Reaper was enjoying himself - his face didn't change much at all, an eyebrow slightly going upward for an instant or the beginning of a smile swiftly cut short were about the only clues one could have had with close inspection. It wasn't that Mathieu was some kind of cold and unfeeling person, the reason was only that he did not have much facial expressions and did not do any effort to work on it. Furthermore, his low black cowl would probably hide any faces he would make, so... After a day of visit he finally came down to the Hydroponic Gardens. Very curious sight it offered, with fruit trees and vegetables growing not in soil but in... a certain strange looking mushy liquid? Mathieu did not dare touching it, not to mention it was probably forbidden. Large pools were covering the cavern's floor, with various plants sprouting from it - was that an apple tree he saw? Who would have thought such thing could grow on this thing?

[Aria]

Aria crouched in a little alcove about fifty feet off the ground in the Hydroponic Gardens. She had a habit of exploring the surrounding caverns when she was bored, And she had come across a cliff that had handholds built in leading up to a small cave. Something about the plant-life in the gardens always seemed to call to her. It really was a miracle of Inarta engineering. They even grew whole orchards in the gardens, in fact, the majority of fruits and vegetables that the citizens of Wind Reach consumed were grown right here. Aria stiffened suddenly, jolted rudely out of her daydreams by the sound of a set of feet entering the cavern. She turned her brilliant green eyes toward the source of the sound. The cowled figure walked into the cavern, his shadowed face gazing with an expression that could almost be described as wonder, though the expression only showed for a moment. He stopped in front of an apple tree at the edge of a pool not too far from where she was. Aria's stomach growled, reminding her of the food she hadn't eaten yet. If she waited much longer, she wouldn't be able to morph and hunt for some food, but this traveler might have some coin on him, unless he was trying to steal from the gardens, which Aria would simply not stand for. Aria quickly stripped off her clothing, making use of the leather strap holding the individual pieces together. Her clothing was specifically designed to fall apart almost at a whim. She shouted down at the foreigner Hey!. and with that, grabbed her clothes in her mouth and dove from the cliff with the feline grace that dwelt inside of her, transforming with a flash of light as she fell. She landed not five feet from the traveler, now a half ton silvery black jaguar that stood a little over five foot tall at the shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with an almost savage intelligence. She dropped her clothes from her mouth, and let out a massive roar exposing some very long, very sharp teeth.

[Mathieu]

Lost in his contemplations, Mathieu never even imagined the presence of the well hidden Kelvic. Not that she was actively trying to conceal herself, but looking upward wasn't his habit - he would have to remedy to this fairly quickly though, with eagle riders soaring through the sky and half-ton freaky cats dropping from nowhere. Wondering about the nature of the strange looking fluid that replaced soil in these gardens, his aimless thoughts quickly shattered as a clear shout echoed through the cavern. He just had the time to lift his gaze to see a gigantic panther jumping down toward him. Quickly turning to face the animal, he took a few step backward and threw his left palm toward her, his right going for the twin scythe on his back. Two sharp incurved blades shone at each end of a long wooden yet solid-looking staff, Mathieu's stance was a defensive one - he didn't know how to trade blows with such an opponent. Furthermore, although he would not show it, he had completely been taken by surprise and had relied on his instincts to form a defensive perimeter between him and Aria, and only now was he beginning to realize what formidable foe he was up against. His left arm straight and hand still facing the huge panther in what looked like an appeasing gesture, his even-tempered tone never wavered even after getting blasted by the extraordinary roar. I want no quarrel with you, he said, hoping the beast could understand his language. For although Mathieu did find it odd to meet a panther in such a place, he was in no position to reflect on the matter - and the thought of Kelvics never crossed his mind as he started circling around Aria, left hand forward and right hand firmly gripping his twin scythe, ready for action. Nothing happened like he imagined it would in Wind Reach, and that was surely the most improbable event that had occurred yet.

[Aria]

Aria glared at the traveler briefly and snarled. She morphed back into her human form with a brief flash of light, then threw her cloak around her naked form. She normally wouldn't bother, but some people weren't used to seeing Kelvics, and were unacquainted with them walking around unclothed. "What is your business in the Gardens, stranger?" Her bright green, feral eyes narrowed to slits. "You don't often see travelers walking down here" While she awaited his answer, she bent slowly and grabbed an apple from pocket on the inside of her cloak and bit into it, all the while keeping her eyes on the mysterious stranger. She was surprised that she hadn't sliced him to ribbons. Something, though she didn't know what, stayed her claws. She stood to her full height, which wasn't that tall. "Think before you speak, because if I'm not satisfied, I'll morph and gut you."

[Mathieu]

Kelvic uh? Boy this one was wild - he was running out of luck here. He was more than confident in his fighting prowess, but that went as far as bandits or wild animals - he was far from eager to test his skills against a panther too huge to be natural. Seeing her switch back to her human form was a relief as he had never been one hungry for blood, especially when himself was probably going to shed some as well. They would hopefully have to settle the matter with words now, but Aria's voice sounded as welcoming as her primal roar. Why wouldn't she just say hello like any other normal person? Than again, he didn't really look normal either. Strange way to greet someone. Is that Kelvic custom? he asked in a calm voice. His left hand went slightly down as he straightened up a little from his crouched stance - still ready to counter a surprise attack, but nowhere near as menacing as his former position. And I doubt Inartas would be happy to find a cold and dead body in their garden, be it yours or mine - or perhaps both, he added with a cold yet unthreatening tone, as a matter of fact. Now that the line had been drawn, he would answer her questions without further delay. He had nothing to hide anyway, and the simple fact that she was eating an apple made her look slightly more friendly than when she was baring her teeth. Not to mention her silhouette was now much less frightening. I am here as a visitor, and as an artist. As for my trade... Better if I was to show you. That is, of course, if I have the guaranty you won't attempt anything, he said courteously without the slightest drop of sarcasm.

[Aria]

Aria smirked at his diplomacy and sarcasm, she had really wanted to beat him a bit. She could have simply landed on him but some feeling she had made her divert her course and see what he was up to. She was also a little surprised that he showed no reaction to the fact that she had no clothes on except an unfastened cloak, Most guys would have at least made a crude comment. She was relieved that she didn't have to gut him for being a perv. None of this showed on her face as she continued the conversation "I wouldn't suggest fighting me, and to be honest, you intrigue me." And he truly did. Every part of his appearance pretty much screamed 'killer'. He was dressed like the embodiment of the grim reaper, and seemed to have a scythe on his back. "I'll stay my hand for the moment, if only because I'm interested in you."

[Mathieu]

Mathieu was hopefully so intensely focusing on survival that he didn't even notice the fact that she was almost naked at that time. Perhaps later if he would leave unharmed from this fateful meeting he would shake his head at the remembrance, but right now such details didn't even strike him as odd. Intriguing? Interesting? He felt like he was going to entertain a crowd of angry mob armed with pitchforks. He winced almost imperceptibly at the sight of the apple being throw away when he could still have tasted it - such waste of food was intolerable. Right now, however, he had bigger problems to solve. In that case, I will ask you to stand back. I cannot guaranty your safety would you decide to come near while I perform my art, he said in an even tone while in his left hand appeared a fire striker, a small U-shaped device made with two ferrocerium rods, an alloy that generate sparks when struck, improved with iron to strengthen its structure. ... Fire Weaving, he specified, placing his twin scythe back with his right hand, then taking out what seemed to be a dry and crumpled piece of paper from under his cloak. Whenever you're ready, he finally told Aria. He now waited for the Kelvic to step back, for what would be more dangerous than a half-a-ton panther? An enraged half-a-ton panther on fire.

[Aria]

Aria glanced at the striker and the piece of paper that the outsider had pulled out, and, cursing her catlike curiosity, stepped back. "You know how they say 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Lets hope that doesn't return true. Have your fun, I'll watch."

[Mathieu]

It won't, he said with a subtle smirk. And so the show begins. His arms moved in an downward circle to end their fluid motion on the ground, generating a shower of sparks and lighting up the dry crump of paper he was holding in his right hand, covered by a dark glove. His whole body accompanied the movement, going down then up, the burning flame now in front of his eyes as he stared into it. And so was fire fought with fire, he solemnly declared as he would a prayer. He then raised his right hand in the air, his arm marking a 45° angle from the ground, and with his left took a tiny vial from under his cloak before pouring its content into his mouth. The paper was small, the flame was dying, he had to act fast, he had to act clean. Mathieu spat the liquid toward the fire, igniting the strange fluid into a wild inferno as he swiftly brought down his hand gone numb from the sudden heat even with fire-resistant glove. As the flame went up into a huge fireball the whole vicinity had instantly gone boiling hot, and the Fire Weaver knew it, he felt it like every other time he breathed fire instead of air, as if his face would melt down, as if staring into the sun itself. So painful, yet so clean and pure. He would not close his eyes at the sight, lest his eyeballs would burn away, staring at this magnificent state of art that was such infernal fireball. After three or four second of long agony the flame disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the heat died down. Mathieu's face wasn't even singed from the performance - not that anyone would see, his cloak hiding almost every features of his face. He reminded himself not to breath yet, although he was dying to feel a fresh gust of air through his lungs, for breathing now would shortly lead to a painful death - all oxygen in his immediate proximity had been burned away, and carbon dioxide (although Mathieu knew not the details nor did he really care) would fatally poison him down. His mentor had died this way after going for a fireblast too long for him to stomach. Ten seconds had passed. It should be safe now. Mathieu felt immensely relieved as he breathed cool air and not deadly poison, and shook his right hand a little. He had brought it down too late, and winced as he folded his fingers into a fist before unfolding them again. A tad bit later and he would have been unable to do even that. He had to be more careful.

[Aria]

Aria watched is every move like, well, a cat. She loved spectacles like this, It was one of the only things she truly found joy in since her last master. Had it really already been a year? A chill ran up her spine despite the heat and she banished the thoughts from her head. The fire seemed to burn for several minutes even though in reality it was only a few seconds. Her clever feline eyes caught every lick of the flame, every practiced motion of the stranger's body as he went through motions he had probably done hundreds of times. Her eyes widened like a little girl's on her birthday as the fireball got bigger and then suddenly died. Aria quickly regained her composure. She tried so hard to maintain her apathetic demeanor. "That was quite impressive, fire weaver" Aria noticed him flexing his hand. "you seem to have messed you timing up slightly" She smiled genuinely to show that she was only poking fun (which was odd, because she almost never smiled. What was it with this guy?) She dropped her cloak and dressed quickly, trying to preserve as much of the stranger's innocence as she could. "My name is Aria, and you are safe from me" she said simply.